electrification
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Ferrari says 60 percent of its lineup will be electrified by 2026
Ferrari has announced at an investor presentation that it will 60 percent electrified by 2026, including the EV it promised last year.
Nissan to invest $17.6 billion in EV development over the next five years
Nissan will invest 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) over the next five years developing new EVs and battery technology.
Lamborghini plans to launch its first fully electric car before 2030
Lamborghini stands out from other supercar makers for a lack of EVs or hybrids, but the Italian automaker has finally unveiled its electrification plans.
Lunaz is electrifying beautiful but unreliable classic cars
Few would question the beauty of classic cars from the 1950s and 60s. Unfortunately, these vehicles are increasingly rare on British roads as they fall into disrepair or become a treasured possession that is only driven on weekends, after hours of meticulous maintenance in a private garage. David Lorenz, however, is desperate to keep classic cars on the road. He's driven them for years, knowing full well they'll probably break down every six months. "It didn't really bother me," Lorenz said. "I could laugh it off and say it was part of the experience of owning a classic." One particular mid-drive malfunction stung, though. Lorenz recalls sitting on the side of the road, in the freezing cold, with no vehicular heating to keep him warm. Breakdown services showed up 90 minutes later. "My brain was going 'How do we change this?'" he said. In that moment, Lorenz realized that classic cars would eventually become too hard to fix and, therefore, inaccessible to his daughter Luna's generation. "She's just not going to [own] these types of vehicles," he thought. "Because people will not continue like this." Instead of wallowing in this automotive bleakness, Lorenz sought a solution. He stewed on the idea of electric conversions until April 2018, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drove a Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero at their wedding. "That really cemented it as an idea I had to go ahead with," Lorenz said.
Peugeot embraces electric cars in bid to return to US market
Carmaker Peugeot has announced a raft of ambitious plans that will see it re-enter the US market and offer an all-electric fleet by 2025. Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress, Peugeot chief executive Carlos Tavares said the company plans to use its recent acquisition of GM's European Opel and Vauxhall operations as a springboard for global expansion -- namely into the US, which it left over 20 years ago due to competition from Japan.
Mazda's engine breakthrough promises big fuel efficiency gains
Mazda has made the announcement car manufacturers have been working towards for years: it's releasing the first commercial compression-ignition gasoline engine. Dubbed SkyActiv-X, the engine will be available in 2019 and promises up to 20-30% more engine efficiency than the current SkyActiv-G, and up to 45% more than Mazda's 2008 petrol engine. Current gasoline engines rely on a spark plug to ignite their air-fuel mix. The SkyActiv-X will ignite the air-fuel mix spark-free through compression, like a diesel engine. This, according to the Japanese manufacturer, combines the advantages of petrol and diesel engines to achieve "outstanding" environmental and power performance.
Washington State to put quick chargers on scenic byway, allow tourists to top-up their EVs
A few weeks back we learned that the US would be getting 310 quick-charging CHAdeMO stations, 480V AC/DC converters that can get a Nissan Leaf to 80 percent charge in under 30 minutes. Most are destined for major metropolitan areas, but we were intrigued to find out that Washington State is going to put two or three of them out in the country, on a 120 mile scenic portion of Route 2 that runs over the Cascade Mountains. It's a popular tourist destination and, with EVs becoming more popular in the area, soon even tourists with cutting-edge transportation to enjoy the ride. After all, everybody likes a good view.
